Court Of Appeal Allows Appeal In Franchise Case With Important Precedential Value

Jonathan Lisus and James Renihan successfully appealed a decision striking out a claim brought by a group of Toronto-area General Motors dealers against the U.S.-based parent company of General Motors of Canada. The Ontario Court of Appeal concluded that the Plaintiffs’ claim raised issues concerning the scope of a franchisor’s duty of good faith, for which there was limited jurisprudence. The Court agreed with the Plaintiffs that the scope of General Motors’ obligations to the Plaintiffs should be determined at trial, noting that the case would likely have “important precedential value”. The Court agreed that franchise legislation must be interpreted generously to achieve its aims of protecting franchisees. Read the decision here. http://www.ontariocourts.ca/decisions/2016/2016ONCA0324.htm